The Iranian Parliament voted Sunday to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point transited by 20 percent of the world’s oil tankers.
The vote came in response to the US bombing of three key Iranian nuclear sites – code-named “Operation Midnight Hammer” — late Saturday night.
About 17 to 18 million barrels of crude are carried through the strait per day, transiting the waterway between the Persian Gulf to the north, and the Gulf of Oman to the south.
A significant amount of liquified natural gas (LNG) also passes through the strait, which is just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, with two 2-mile-wide shipping lanes in each direction.
The Strait of Hormuz is the sole Arabian Sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean; it is bordered by major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Iran.
Global oil producers have repeatedly warned that any closure of the strait could lead to immediate spikes in the price of crude, seriously disrupting the global economy and raising prices by as much as $5 for a gallon for gasoline and hiking shipping insurance premiums.
However, although Sunday’s vote represented another defiant gesture against global commerce by the Tehran government, it was little more than a threat.
The final decision rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the opinion of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Major General Esmail Kowsari, a member of the parliament’s National Security Committee, pointed out to state media.
Such a move could prove to be the catalyst for an elevated response by the United States and its allies.
Regardless, it is likely that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy forces will increase their harassment of foreign oil tankers in the coming days.
